Virginia (Ginny) passed away peacefully on April 13, 2023. Preceded in death by Clarence Haight, Hazel Haight and Jack Bigelow. Survived by John Bigelow (Amy) Peggy Whiting (Brian). Her grandchildren, Jacob Bigelow and Emily Bigelow. Ginny was born July 27th, 1934 in Omaha Nebraska in the midst of the Great Depression. She attended Beals Elementary School and Central High School. During these years she met three cherished lifelong friends: Donna Miesbach, Nancy Land and Pat Hansen. As an only child, Ginny grew up with Donna Miesbach Who was like a sister, enjoying 84 years of friendship together and the love of Donna’s children and family. Virginia received a scholarship to and attended Grinnell College. While at Grinnell, she majored in Political Science, and met her future husband, Jack Bigelow. Ginny and Jack were married shortly after graduation from Grinnell. With her marriage to Jack her family grew to include sister in law Anne and Joe Wise and her nieces, nephews, and their families. Ginny and Jack chose Chicago as the first stop of their adventure together. Jack’s career moved them around the country from Chicago to Houston, Omaha, Philadelphia, West Des Moines, and finally Omaha. Along the way they welcomed John and Peggy to their family and ensured their children were loved, nurtured and educated. Ginny’s family continued to expand with the marriage of John to Amy and the arrivals of her adored grandchildren, Jacob and Emily. And grew again with the marriage of Peggy to Brian and their many dogs.
Ginny went back into the workforce as her kids grew into teenagers, and through hard work and perseverance became a Senior Life Insurance Underwriter, a career that she loved with a passion and spoke of right up to her final days. Jack passed away in 2003, bringing to a close 47 years of marriage. Throughout her life Ginny had many interests and hobbies. She was an avid bridge player. She and Jack would host bridge parties with all their fun friends at their home monthly and later Ginny would regularly participate in bridge games and tournaments up until early this year. Ginny was a storyteller. One of her favorite stories involved how she met Omaha native Warren Buffet while playing bridge. Anyone who knew Ginny, has heard at least one Buffett Bridge story. In addition to Bridge was her love of Labrador Retrievers. It began in the 1970’s with Herman, who she officially named “Lord Herman of Greenbriar”… Herman, because at the time she thought he was a German breed, and Greenbriar because it was our neighborhood in Pennsylvania. Herman was followed by her sweet Daisy and finally her favorite, Baron (Bear). Bear was her companion following the loss of her husband, and she mentioned him regularly up until her last days. She was also a voracious reader and loved murder mysteries of all types. She loved the challenge of jigsaw puzzles and there was always a table reserved for a work in progress or completed puzzle. Ginny loved all things Great Britain: the culture, the monarchy, TV shows/movies. In her later years she went on several trips to Ireland, made many new friends, and cherished every minute of those journeys. Ginny had farming in her blood. She often visited her father’s family in nearby in Woodbine, Iowa on their farm. She always had a vegetable garden, grew tomatoes and grew pumpkins for her grandchildren.
Ginny had a full life well lived. She was engaging, funny and intelligent. She shared her love and light with all she knew and was devoted to her family and friends. She will be dearly missed.
In lieu of flowers, donation to the Central High School Foundation, in the name of Virginia Bigelow https://chsfomaha.org/support/memorial-giving/
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